Imperfect door frames

[BPCFinishing]

These are in my house (of course) but am wondering for future reference how some of you may tackle this issue.  Hinge side of floor is about 1/2 inch higher than strike side.  I set the door so head jamb was level and trimmed door bottom so gap off floor was even when shut.  Problem is top door trim will be level but not true with soffit and when the door is open the strike side bottom of the door hits the floor.  What would you do?  Set with a level head jamb or fit the opening so finish trim and bottom door reveal were even......or level a whole floor

 

[Tyler Ernsberger]

I always start by putting a level on the ground.  This will tell you how much to take off(in your case 1/2in).  Once you cut the jamp to make the header level, you will need to take some off the bottom of the door.  I normally cut the bottom of the door square, but it depends if the the door is going to stay open or closed the majority of the time to see if you want to do a taper.  So far your on track!!!

 

[tiralie]

Set with a level head jamb or fit the opening so finish trim and bottom door reveal were even

I would probably do the above not that, that's correct but if it were my house I would probably take a hatchet to that soffit.
Mine is driving me nuts.
Tim

 

[BPCFinishing]

Funny you say that Tim, I had to stop myself from making a real mess with the sledge hammer!  Dislike the soffit and the attached "plate rail". 

Brad

 

[BPCFinishing]

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[shaun.mcc]

Trim jamb so that the head is level. Trim door slab so bottom is parallel to floor.

 

[tjbnwi]

If the lack of parallelism against the soffit bothers you create a parallelogram door. No one will notice the to of square door, but they will see the out of parallel lines.

Sometimes right is visual more than technical.

Tom

 

[Sparktrician]

I think I'd check other doors in the house to see if any of them are out of level/plumb before doing anything else.  If there are others like this, I'd not feel too bad about it, but if it's the only one that's out, I'd adjust so that the top is dead level and the sides are plumb, doing any needed tuning at the bottom due to the floor being out of level.  The eye naturally goes to the top of the door, not to the floor.  Getting the casing to look right with the soffit is going to be the difficult part.  If it were my house, the soffit would go most wiki-wiki.  Can't stand them; they collect more dust than anything else. 

 

[sancho57]

what Tom said.

Either that or jack that corner of the house up...

( sorry couldn't resist)

 

[JimD]

I didn't notice the soffit at first, that is an issue.  Too close for the trim I use and not level.

My main comment is I get the hinge side of the door plumb, I don't worry so much about the top.  If it is plumb, then I start to mess with the other sides.  You might be able to make the top of door and head jamb match the angle of the soffit but I wouldn't.  If the soffit has to stay, I'd make the trim match the soffit.  It won't look great but the problem is the soffit, not the door hanging.  If the soffit can go, at least over the door, then problem solved.

If the hinge side jamb is plumb and up as far as it can go and the door hits, I trim the door (great job for the track saw).

 

[BPCFinishing]

I hung the sides plumb and the head jamb level.  I initially cut the bottom of the door so that there was an even gap when closed, but when the door opens up the strike side hits the floor when its near fully open.  So I will go back and trim it so that when it's open the door has an even gap with the floor (it's mostly open anyways).  The kitchen will be redone at some point and that soffit will likely come out.  If this were another house I would've went the parallelogram way to make the trim look right.  I started using Gary Katz method for installation and so far it makes things much easier to install and adjust, especially since I work solo.  Thanks for all your tips!